Payroll Specialist

Job Summary

A Payroll Specialist is needed for a temp-to-hire opportunity in Pasadena, CA, supporting payroll operations within the industrial facilities and infrastructure construction industry. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented payroll professional who is experienced with in-house payroll systems, high-volume data entry, union reporting, wage and hour compliance, and accurate payroll processing.

The Payroll Specialist will play an important role in ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while supporting HR, Accounting, and Payroll leadership with payroll questions, reporting, reconciliations, and compliance-related matters. This opportunity offers the chance to contribute to a stable, process-driven environment where accuracy, teamwork, accountability, and responsive internal customer service are highly valued.

Key Responsibilities

- Process weekly payroll, including time entry, error checking, paycheck preparation, and direct deposit file processing.
- Prepare union fringe benefit reports, compile payroll data, submit reports, and coordinate related check requests.
- Maintain payroll, employee, pay, and fringe benefit information using JD Edwards and HCM systems.
- Reconcile payroll prior to transmission, validate confirmed reports, research job cost corrections, and resolve discrepancies.
- Respond to payroll-related questions from Human Resources, Accounting, employees, EDD inquiries, and other internal stakeholders.
- Process payroll adjustments, garnishments, stop payments, manual checks, benefit deductions, unclaimed payroll checks, and year-end reporting as needed.

Compensation and Benefits

- Pay range: $26.00 to $34.00 per hour.
- Employment type: Temp-to-hire.
- Location: Pasadena, CA.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disabled / Protected Veterans

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For temporary assignments lasting 13 weeks or longer, AppleOne is pleased to offer major medical, dental, vision, 401k and any statutory sick pay where required.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact your staffing representative who will reach out to our HR team.

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We also consider for employment qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements, including, if applicable, the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. Pursuant to applicable state and municipal Fair Chance Laws and Ordinances, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, including, if applicable, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For Los Angeles, CA applicants: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Additional Skills

Required Qualifications and Skills

- Process weekly in-house payroll accurately and on schedule.
- Prepare union fringe benefit reporting and related payroll documentation.
- Maintain employee payroll data in JD Edwards, HCM, or similar payroll/accounting systems.
- Reconcile payroll, research discrepancies, and support payroll compliance activities.

- 5+ years of payroll experience required.
- Experience processing payroll through an in-house payroll system required, such as Oracle JD Edwards or a similar platform.
- 5+ years of data entry experience in an accounting or payroll system required.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel required.
- Accurate 10-key by touch required, with 9,000 keystrokes per minute and 99.9% data-entry accuracy. 10,000+ keystrokes preferred.
- Working knowledge of Federal and State wage and hour laws required.
- Ability to process garnishment calculations accurately and in compliance with applicable requirements.
- Understanding of proper taxation of employer-paid benefits.
- Experience with W-2, W-2c, and other year-end payroll reporting activities as needed.
- Strong analytical, research, documentation, and problem-solving skills.
- High attention to detail with the ability to work under pressure and meet payroll deadlines with minimal errors.
- Professional communication skills with the ability to respond to payroll questions and resolve issues in a timely manner.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience supporting payroll in a construction, industrial facilities, infrastructure, union, or job-costing environment.
- Experience preparing union fringe benefit reports.
- Experience with Oracle JD Edwards and HCM systems.
- 10,000+ 10-key keystrokes with high accuracy.